Chapter 22: Distorted Fate (2)

Suzu Taniguchi, a 17 year old girl who'd been whisked away to another world alongside her classmates.

From a very young age, her parents had been workaholics. Day in and day out, they'd worked, rarely ever showing up for parent-teacher conferences or participating in other school events where parents were invited.

In truth, Suzu had been practically raised by the caretaker they'd hired for her. Suzu had more memories of spending time with her than her actual parents. Whenever her caretaker had left, Suzu was always left alone in that huge house.

Perhaps because of the isolated environment she'd grown up in, Suzu hadn't been very cheerful as a child, and she hadn't had many friends. Lonely, but also unsure of how to rid herself of loneliness, Suzu's childhood was no doubt an unhappy one.

Had it not been for her cheerful and lively babysitter, Suzu might've ended up even gloomier than she had. It wasn't that her parents didn't love her, they'd been careful about not spoiling her, and even if Suzu was already asleep by the time they arrived at home, they'd still check up on her.

However, that hadn't been nearly enough for a young child like Suzu. So even if she'd been awake by the time her parents came home, she pretended to be asleep. Or if they'd made time to come home early, she just pouted instead of spending time with them.

It had been thanks to Suzu's babysitter that she'd been able to transform from a gloomy, moody child, to the cheery, outgoing girl she is now. A few years after she'd been employed, the caretaker had been able to see Suzu slowly turning into an unsociable child, and had given her some advice.

'Just Smile.'

Truthfully, that advice was pretty half-assed at best, but the old caretaker had meant it from her heart. Moreover, she'd been like a second mom to Suzu.

Though Suzu didn't fully believe that was all it would take, she'd been willing to try anything to Alleviate her loneliness.

First, she tried smiling at her parents.

"Mom, Dad, Thank You!"

She'd acted overjoyed the next time they'd given her a present. Honestly, she'd still felt annoyed at them for neglecting her all this time, but she pushed those emotions down.

Naturally, her parents had been surprised by her sudden change in attitude, but they'd also been happy.

"N-no problem, Suzu. Daddy wants you to be happy…"

"Suzu, come give your mom a hug."

She'd never seen them smile so happily before.

Of course, their workload hadn't changed, but now they seemed happy when they were with Suzu rather than apologetic, and that, in turn, made Suzu happy for real.

In time, she tried smiling more at school as well. Even though she wasn't necessarily having fun at school, she'd smile all the time anyway. Before she knew it, she'd made dozens of friends, and all of them had seemed happy to be spending time with her.

In a flash, her dreary school life had become exciting. It was then that Suzu had learned that smiling was the solution to her problems. As long as she was smiling, she'd never be alone.

And thus, the class mood maker was born.

From then on, Suzu was always smiling cheerfully, even if she didn't actually feel that happy inside. She kept her happy, joking persona up no matter what.

That, was the individual; Suzu Taniguchi—

*Drip—Drip—Drip—Drip*

Suzu's eyes fluttered slightly, releasing a pained groan as she gradually opened them. Her body shivered, feeling a chilling breeze caress her skin.

The first thing she'd noticed without even opening her eyes was that her whole body had been submerged in ice cold water, giving her a tender numbness all over.

'W-where am I…?'

Groggily lifting her head, she tried to recall how she'd ended up in this state. Her surroundings were relatively dark, but due to the green crystals scattered about, it wasn't pitch black.

Glancing behind her, she caught sight of a river five meters wide, and noticed that she was still almost entirely submerged within it. The water level came up to her chest, and her head rested on a boulder that jetted out from the river bank.

'W-wait…the bridge collapsed, and then Eri—'

Her thoughts suddenly halted, the fog clouding her mind slowly cleared as her brain finally started working again. From the vague memories Suzu had on hand, it became apparent that she'd been carried by various waterfalls upon plummeting into the abyss, leading her down into an opening before she lost consciousness shortly after.

Realizing how absurd the previous sequence of events had been, she couldn't help but release a dry chuckle. By some uncanny stroke of luck, she'd cheated death, surviving the extremely long fall and ended up in that river, propped up in the position she lay in previously.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

'But…Why am I here, w-where is this place…?'

Although the location she currently resided was unknown to her, she decided to put that question off for later, and instead focused on pulling herself out of the water. If she'd stayed submerged any longer than that, she ran the risk of developing hypothermia.

Shivering, she attempted to grab hold of the rocky surface of the river's ledge, but…her left arm wouldn't move.

'Huh, what's going on…?'

Confused, she furrowed her brows, worriedly turning her gaze downward, only to see her arm dangling limply. Swollen spots of purple and red could be seen alongside many protrusions of broken bones that stretched out from beneath her skin.

"Ah…"

Her heart instantly sank, a dumb sound escaped her lips. It felt as though someone had doused her in freezing cold water. She could feel an influx of warm saliva slowly filling her mouth as she fought desperately to swallow down the bile rising in her throat.

'Oh god, oh god, oh god..!'

Biting her lips, tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to pull herself out of the river. The numbness she felt previously was gradually being replaced by a stabbing pain, especially so upon realization of her own injury.

Barely managing to pull herself out, she flopped to the ground, rolling over on her side. The labyrinth's cold floor pressed against her wet skin, her clothes clinging to her body uncomfortably.

"NGHH…!"

Suzu grimaced, her face twisting in pain. Despite her best efforts, she still managed to aggravate the injury further, her sudden movements proving detrimental. The absence of any reprieve from the agony made her feel both frustration and sorrow, quietly stewing in her chest like a dormant volcano.

'W-why the hell am I even…'

Her emotions began to pour forth after getting past the initial confusion, an overwhelming sensation of pure helplessness engulfing her heart. Whimpering silently, she lay with her head limp against the ground, tears spilling endlessly from her eyes.

There existed no optimism in her heart amidst this situation, only a never-ending worry at the prospect of more suffering. No one would come to save her; she could feel it instinctively.

Regardless, even with her emotions running rampant, she still had the mind to keep aware of her surroundings, not daring to make too much noise on the off chance of something hearing her. Although she was afraid of her current circumstances, she feared even more what might come slithering out of the darkness ahead.

A couple minutes passed before she eventually decided to lift herself up, shifting into a sitting position. Sniffling softly from both her cries and the cold, she removed her wet clothes, careful not to aggravate the pain of her broken arm.

" I-imagine if they'd seen me in this state, a-all bruised and battered… I-I'm sure Eri—"

She attempted to cheer herself up somewhat, but her words immediately caught in her throat at the mention of her 'best friend'. Swallowing her saliva with a bit of difficulty, she shook her head, ignoring the goosebumps rising on her arms.

'I…I guess I should just focus on getting warmer…'

Suzu distracted herself, opting to instead focus her attention on the steady decrease of her body temperature. She wrung out her wet clothes, sitting in nothing but her underwear. Grabbing one of the jagged edged stones scattered about, she drew a 5 centimeter magic circle on the ground.

She was trying to cast the 'Flare' spell, which even kids could cast with a 10 centimeter magic circle. Due to her job; 'Barrier Master', she possessed an above average affinity with fire magic, so casting a simple spell like this required no complications.

"My Desire Is Fire, Fire Imbued With The Essence Of Light — Flare"

As she chanted the entire incantation, the efficacy of the spell was thus increased, allowing a flame the size of a campfire to manifest within the circle. The light flickered off her skin, illuminating the redness of her puffy eyes and the dark expression on her face.

She sat in silence, laying her clothes out to dry beside the fire. Staring listlessly, her eyes drawn to the vigorous ember burning brightly.

'Where am I? How should I make it out of here…? I don't think there's a staircase leading up… But can I really manage…?'

Questions she had no answers to swirled about her mind, bringing with it a hopeless sensation of dread. She had tried to consider her options, but any further pondering brought despair to her already aching heart.

Suzu was aware of the fact that her behavior at present would soon cause her to break down, but it wasn't something she could help. She just wasn't suited to face such high pressure situations all on her own, especially when the stakes went as far as life and death.

'Maybe…maybe I'll find something…'

Clinging onto that miniscule spark of hope, she pursed her lips, refusing to let the tears wash away her resolve.

After about 10 minutes, she warmed herself sufficiently and her clothes were mostly dry, so she decided to head out, trying her luck at finding a method to the surface.

She had no idea what floor she was on, but if one thing was clear, she was truly deep in the labyrinth. That said, it wouldn't be strange for monsters to pop out at any time.

Suzu walked slowly, caution filled every step as she made her way down the long passageway. The path she was going down was wide, resembling a cave of sorts. It was on a completely different scale from the ones in the upper floors.

She moved from the cover of each boulder and obstruction she could find, making doubly sure to stay hidden within the shadows. Her heart pounded in her chest, anxiety clawing at her psyche. Every passing second was nerve wracking, the chilling silence driving her to the breaking point.

She had no idea how long she walked for, but sweat beaded down her forehead as her breaths occasionally hitched in her throat. The excruciating pain of her left arm caused her to halt her progression, sitting stationary behind a tall stalagmite.

'Why couldn't I have just learned healing magic…Damnit…!'

Clenching her teeth in vexation, she clawed at her shirt, completely fed up.

Self loathing warred with her growing anger at anything and everything. She was tired, uncomfortable, scared, and in pain. To make matters worse, she was also beginning to feel hungry.

If this wasn't hell, she didn't know what was.

Wiping away the snot leaking from her nose, she exhaled, feeling the constant constricting of her chest.

'Damnit, Damnit, Damnit…!'

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Authors Words:

Don't fret, there's only one more chapter of her POV, and it might come out some time later today, No Promises!

Leave me your power stones, they give me more stamina.

Although I do write this story for fun, I love to see others enjoying it as well.

So...Spread Your Love(Cringe)

A-anyways, just do as I tell you...!

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